Carnival Antics
by kawaii-firestar
Summary: Tsunade sends the Rookie 9, Team Gai, and the Sand Siblings on a mission to a... hold up! A carnival? With fun, rides, prizes, and competition occupying many, the rest decide to play cupid. NarutoxHinata SasukexSakura NejixTenten ShikamaruxIno
1. Carnival?

**kawaii-firestar-My first chaptered story is started! My family's over so that's all I really have to say.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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"Yes!" Naruto cheered, leading the group of shinobi behind him. He pumped a fist into the air enthusiastically. "Granny Tsunade finally gave me a mission!" The Number 1 Hyperactive ninja started his victory dance but was stopped by a very cruel fist. A small gasp was heard when he fell to the ground.

Sakura winced mentally and rubbed her knuckles. His spiky haired head was hard! "Naruto quit thinking of only yourself!" she yelled as Inner Sakura laughed evilly at his crumpled form. "Tsunade-sama gave all of us an order for the same mission," she pointed out, motioning to Sasuke and teams 8,9, and Gai.

It was true. Rock Lee had burst into each team's training session reporting that the Hokage had wanted each of them to come to her office immediately for a mission assignment. Oh, did I mention that Lee told everyone this with overflowing youth that made Gai cry, and then caused the sunset background to appear as he hugged Lee in joy, even though it was 9 A.M.? Well, that's what happened. Anyway, all the ninja were supposed to go to Tsunade's office without their sensei, which caused some confusion. The genin obeyed without question though. Tsunade was scary when her orders weren't filled. Especially if she was drunk.

Within a few minutes, the 12 ninja had reached Tsunade's office and were knocking on her door.

"Come in," the Hokage's voice slurred from behind it. It was obvious she had been drinking... again. The genin looked at each other, silently debating if they should really go in. Shino, Sasuke, Tenten, and everyone else whose brain could operate had already turned around when Neji pushed through the mini crowd and opened the door. Leave it to Neji to get them all screwed. They all shuffled in and stood before their Hokage. Well... they would have been if not for the three other genin blocking their way. All the Konoha ninja blinked before Naruto broke the silence.

"Granny Tsunade what are they doing here?!?!" He pointed an accusing finger at the Sand Siblings to add to the effect. Naruto wasn't happy to see Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro again to say the least.

Tsunade stood up shakily to get a better view of her village's genin. Too bad the sake was affecting her vision right now. "I assigned these three the same mission as all of you genin, Naruto." Wow, she was so drunk she couldn't even snap back at the 'granny' comment.

"But they tried to destroy our village!" everyone except the cool, calm, and collected ones yelled. (aka Sasuke, Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru, who is too lazy to care.)

This didn't seem to faze Tsunade. Big shocker there. "No buts. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro are going on the same mission as you and you're gonna like it!" She puched her desk straight on and it snapped in half. Everyone flinched and shuffled slowly away. Yes...even the cool, calm, and collected ones. And the one who didn't care. "By the way Kiba, Akamaru can't go. Health problems and all." Holy mother! The alcohol was even giving Tsunade mood swings! Or was it PMS? Wait... isn't she too old to have PMS?

Grumbles of ineffective protest came from the group. The Sand Siblings didn't care. They had nothing better to do than go on a Konoha mission. A light bulb turned on in someone's head. "Hey! What kind of mission has health issues with dogs!"

"A very good question," Tsunade said, switching to another mood. "You are all going to go to..." the blonde paused for a dramatic effect. "A..." the ninjas who cared eye's widened. "A..." their eyes are now the size of dinner plates."... a carnival." Everyone paused. Three seconds later, maniacal laughter filled the room. Man! Tsunade's got to lay off the sake once in a while. Smack! The overly drunk maniac passed out on her desk, which was amazing since it had snapped in half. Even Gaara was surprised.

"How much sake did Tsunade-sama have this time?" Tenten asked in shock at her idol. Everyone looked at the floor by Tsunade's now limp form. So much for a floor! Eight bottles of sake lay empty at her feet. Well...that explained a lot.

"Yay!" Naruto cheered, "A fun mission!" Kiba and Lee jumped up to join their friend and cheered with him. The three danced around Tsunade's office while the other twelve stared on in disbelief. A glass bottle popped out of each of the dancing idiot's pockets. Being too drunk to care, the dance continued. There was a smash from one of the bottles and Tsunade woke up. She shoved all 15 people out of her office in a rage.

"Here are tickets to get in to the carnival," she said and shoved 15 tickets into the closest teens hand. After making sure that Shikamaru wouldn't lose them, Tsunade slammed the door in everone's faces. A "Get moving bright and early tomorrow morning!" was heard behind the door.

15 ninjas blinked. "She was serious?"

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**kawaii-firestar- And that concludes chapter one of Carnival Antics!**


	2. Cupids

**kawaii-firestar- Finally! Chapter 2 of Carnival Anticsis up! I have to say that on the first chapter I put Team 10 as Team 9 but I changed that. I'm sorry if there was any confusion. One more thing and I swear 'm done. Does anyone know how to change the name of the first chapter? If you do please tell me in a review or message me. Either way will be fine. Anyway, please enjoy chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer- I only own my new pajamas and manga books**

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The annoying Merry-Go-Round music and ear piercing screams of young children were only two of the noises blasting throughout the bustling carnival. Yes, Tsunade was serious and Teams 7, 8, 10, Gai and Baki were stuck to wander around an overly crowded pinstriped hell called a carnival for the entire day. The shinobi stood stock still, probably looking like total idiots, gawking at the amount of people running around them. Over-worked parents were chasing after their children that kept swerving in and out of the crowd, people around the ninja's age were waiting in huge lines for rides that took forever, and the annoying workers somehow found a way through the madness, still pestering everyone. Man! It's amazing how many people actually show up for these things. 

_Surprisingly_, Ino broke the lingering silence. "Well this is boring!" she complained, throwing her hands up in the air. The others nodded in agreement and began to break off into pairs. Well, it seemed Temari's secretive and unknown plan was working before she put it into action.

"Let's go to the Dunk Tank Neji!" Tenten urged, tugging on his sleeve like a toddler. She looked up at the Hyuuga with pleading eyes. She really wanted to show off her aiming skills to the unfortunate few that haven't had the honor to see them yet, while Neji drew in a crowd of impressed teenagers with his looks.

Lucky for her, getting Neji to come didn't take much persuasion. He personally wanted to watch the poor losers stuck with sitting in the tank scream like little girls whenever Tenten threw. Ooo, the irony he'd soon face. "Hn," he muttered, finally facing the girl at his arm.

"Thank you!" she cried, taking the word as a yes. Throwing off the sweet and innocent act she had used to convince him, Tenten turned and pulled Neji towards the Dunk Tank, leaving a dust cloud behind them.

It was Ino's turn now. She turned toward her beloved Sasuke. She faked a flirty voice and batted her eyelashes. "Hey Sas-" Ino's face fell. She glared at the second dust cloud of the day. The stupid thing held Sasuke, who was being dragged away by Sakura. The pink haired girl twisted her head around and stuck her tongue out at Ino.

The blonde huffed and decided that Shikamaru would at least be some company. "Shikamaru!" she yelled, snapping the lazy boy awake. He slowly lifted his head up from the ground and looked at Ino. Her pride swelled. "You're walking around the carnival with me!" Ino pointed a finger at Shikamaru for an added effect.

"Okay," he agreed and stood up from his sleeping position.

Ino blinked. "That's it?" she asked in disbelief. "No 'troublesome woman' or 'it's too troublesome'? Nothing?" It was too good to be true! No really. It was.

"It would be too troublesome not to go." Shikamaru shrugged and walked off with Ino. She automatically began scolding him for getting her hopes up.

At this time the most unbelievable thing happened.

Naruto walked up to a blushing Hinata and put on a sloppy grin. He got up to her and waved right in her face. "Hi Hinata!" the blonde yelled, causing her to blush harder.

Hinata started to twiddle her fingers on instinct. She looked down at her dusty sandals and said "He-hello Naruto."

Naruto, being the dense idiot he was, asked Hinata a question with the most obvious answer. "Well, since we're the only ones left do you want to go on some carnival rides with me?"

Hinata was so star struck she lifted her head up to see if this really was Naruto talking to her. Sure enough, it was. A day all alone with her crush? Hell yeah she'd go! "O-of co-course Naruto." She saw his blue eyes fill up with excitement. Wait, she was looking at him? Hinata's shyness quickly came back and she put her head down again.

Ignoring Hinata's reaction to seeing him, Naruto put on a wider grin. "Okay, let's go!" he cheered, before grabbing her hand, dragging her towards the array of various rides. Today was going to be great with Hinata there!

All was quiet until a woman's voice yelled out in anger. "Only ones left my ass!" Plain and simple, Temari was pissed. Here she was, stuck with her two brothers, a fat kid, a creepy guy in a trench coat, a freaky guy with even freakier eyebrows and a guy in a parka! Then she noticed something strange in this group of people. "Why am I the only girl?"

Everyone except Gaara and Shino shrugged. The rest of the boys were quickly trying to think up something. Personally, they couldn't care less but they couldn't say that when her sadistic brother was around. _Some _people didn't have a death wish.

"Maybe you're just pathetic?" a certain brown haired Dog boy suggested. #sigh# That was worse than not saying anything!

An anime vein appeared on Temari's head. "Just for that smart ass remark, all of you people that are stuck without a girl," she gestured towards the six guys left," are going to help me with my plan."

"What plan?" four of the six asked in unison, the 2 not asking obviously being Gaara and Shino.

Temari smirked. "I was hoping you'd ask that. You single fools are going to help those too dense see that they are made for each other." She saw their blank faces and put it in a simpler way. "We're going to make the already chosen pairs fall in love."

"Since when do you make other people happier?" Kankuro questioned his sister suspiciously.

"Since now so shut up!" the blonde snapped putting all of her attention on her purple faced brother. When he did in fact shut up, Temari turned back towards the other boys. "Are you in or not?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Six blank faces stared at her. Then Rock Lee burst out another proclamation of Gai-sensei's youthful teachings. "Yosh!" he exclaimed, with a fire in his huge, creepy circle eyes. "We must let their youthful flame shine through!"

_Disgrace to mankind... _a certain red haired sand ninja thought in annoyance.

"Dude what's wrong with you?" Kiba asked, smacking Lee across the head. "That's just not right! We're guys, not Cupid!"

"He's right," Chouji agreed, shoving another handful of chips in his mouth. "We are not going to set up everyone!" More chip crunches. Can this guy be serious for once? Maybe someone should just insult his size and get this guy focused...

And the arguments continued with Temari and Lee supporting the hook ups while Kiba, Kankuro, and Chouji were clearly against it. Gaara and Shino... well they just watched in amusement, eating some popcorn that someone had stupidly let sitting on a table. The fight went on for more than ten minutes but then the most unexpected thing happened.

"It's a good idea," Gaara spoke up.

The shinobi all stopped what they were doing. Even Shino turned his head to look at the redhead in shock. Since when did Gaara want to be Mr. Helpful?

Temari was the first to regain her composure. "Well you heard him. Let's split up and go!" She grabbed her brothers and ran towards the jumble of booths. "By the way!" she yelled over her shoulder, "Dog boy made a good point! Our team name is the Cupids!"

"That's..._not_ a good idea," Gaara murmured. I'm surprised he could even talk since Temari was practically strangling him to make sure he wouldn't leave. There was also the dust flying up from the dust cloud... Anyway, Shino and Kiba went their own way while Lee and Chouji decided to team up for once.

"I must restore the youth!!!" Lee cried, running off, leaving Chouji to follow his dust cloud. Man! How many dust clouds were there going to be today?

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**kawaii-firestar- Well that's it. Sorry all my chapters are short but I swear the next one will be longer. It has to be when it has Neji in a Dunk Tank, Shino and Kiba bribing a worker, and The Clown Patrol. NejixTenten next chapter. **


	3. Dunk Tank

**kawaii-firestar- Well here's chapter 3! Much quicker than before, ne? I know it's still a long wait but I had surgery and I couldn't get on the computer for obvious reasons. I'm so lucky that my editor took time to edit before she went on her week long trip. Thanks to her this chapter isn't taking 3 weeks to be added on. Sorry, I'm rambling and I sound way too freaking serious. One last thing. The italics are supposed to show sarcasm and thoughts. That might have been confusing too. Heh...enjoy chapter 3!**

**Disclaimer- Do you own Naruto? #readers shake their heads in dissapointment# T-T Neither do I**

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"Who are we gonna set up Shino?" Kiba asked his teammate out of boredom. They had been wandering aimlessly around the carnival for only 10 minutes but it seemed that without Akamaru, Kiba really was hopeless. 

Shino shrugged, obviously not caring about the question at all. He _could_ be talking to his little bug friends instead of walking through a large kid infested mob. But sadly, that was a pipe dream. That evil blonde girl just had to ruin his peaceful day with her so called plan. Everyone was depressed today, weren't they?

Kiba sighed. His teammate was so boring! Why'd Tsunade have to be so cruel and take away Akamaru? Oh right. She's Tsunade, that's why. In the middle of his sad realization, Kiba noticed something in the distance. "Hey Shino!" he yelled, catching the other teen's attention. Not waiting for an answer, Kiba asked, "Isn't that Neji and Tenten at the Dunk Tank over there?" He pointed ahead of him at two brunette figures.

"I think so," Afrobuggyman replied, squinting at the pair behind his shades. Thank god! Something other than Kiba's annoying talking was happening!

Said annoying Dog Boy smirked at the plan that had just formed in his head. This plan was sure to work but he just needed a little help to get it to work. "Come on," he said before running off behind the striped tents.

Figuring he had nothing better to do, Shino followed him. It was rare that Kiba had a well thought-out plan and, needless to say Shino wanted to see if it would really work. If not, he could always take happiness from the other's sadness.

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"Step right up folks!" a young teen in red and white pinstriped carnival attire shouted, catching the attention of many. I'm not quite sure if it was the loud voice or the unusual pinstriped shirt, hat and bright white slacks that caught their attention, but either way, it worked. "We need one of you lucky people to be the main attraction in our ever popular Dunk Tank!" She pointed at the blue and yellow bucket behind her with enthusiasm. The murky brown water sloshed around inside it but luckily no one saw the nasty liquid. "Any takers?" she asked while keeping the innocent smile on her face. Acting must be a key skill when working in a carnival. 

A hesitant hand rose in the crowd. "I'll go," a poor pathetic soul offered. He didn't know what was coming...

The perky worker rushed up to the little man and slung an arm around his shoulders. "Thank you sir! Thank you!" _Sucker! _

She brought him over to the tank and held open the side door. Steps were found inside and the man climbed up them. The short volunteer propped himself up onto the board that hovered above the water. ...If you could call it water.

The pinstriped worker didn't have to ask for someone to throw. Tenten thrust one dollar into the worker's hand and received three green balls in return. "Finally!" Tenten cheered. "I've been waiting to come back here for a week! Good to see you too Aiko," she greeted the worker as an afterthought.

"Come to make grown men cry again I see," Aiko the worker said. Tenten had come here at least two times a week, courtesy of Neji, and the two females had become very good friends over the course of time.

Aiko looked over the kunoichi's shoulder. She saw Neji standing there with his arms crossed and a deep frown as usual. Aiko looked back at Tenten. "That fun sucker brought you again, right?"

Tenten blushed while completely ignoring the nickname her friend had given Neji. "H-he doesn't always bring me!" _Smooth Tenten... you're sounding like Hinata now!_ She mentally scolded herself. "I-it's always a mission!" _Yeah, that'll work! _"Lady Tsunade sent all of us on a mission!"

"Then where is everyone else Tenten?" Aiko asked, completely confused. After all, she never met any ninja from Konoha other than Neji and Tenten.

"Um... uh..." Tenten was at a loss for words. She didn't know where everyone else had run off to and she couldn't make up somewhere because then Aiko would send her Clown Patrol to check if they were really there. If they weren't, Aiko would take it the wrong way and she'd think that Neji took her on a date! Oh she'd never hear the end of it.

Seeing how uncomfortable Tenten was becoming, Aiko dropped the subject. "So are you gonna give this guy a one way trip to a watery hell?" She questioned, gesturing behind her at the man sitting on the chair-like board.

"What guy?" Tenten asked, leaning on her tip toes to get a better view of the tank.

"Huh?" Aiko turned around to face the Dunk Tank. Sure enough, the seat was empty. "Shit," the worker muttered and ran towards the place the man was previously at. She looked over the edge of the tank into the murky water. The volunteer was floating in the water, his breakfast all over his shirt. He must have looked at the water and well... the rest is obvious. Aiko sighed. "Not again." She lifted her fingers up to her mouth and whistled. Instantly, an ambulance full of clowns pulled up. They scrambled out of their too small car and saluted her. "At ease," she commanded and her loyal Clown Patrol lowered their gloved hands in awe-inspiring synchronization. Words were not needed and the Clown Patrol grabbed the comatose man out of the water. Once he was situated inside their ambulance, they sped off to perform clown surgery. That poor unknowing man...

When the ambulance was out of sight, Aiko put on a cheesy smile and turned back towards the uncaring crowd. They needed a new volunteer now didn't they? "So who will-" her to be question was cut short and a smirk appeared on her face. "You sir!" she shouted, pointing towards Neji. "Come up here sir!" With that, a small multi-colored object flew back to two coat covered shinobi hiding in the bushes.

The prodigy turned his attention on the worker. "Aiko, you know me. Quit calling me sir." Was he changing the subject on purpose? If he was Aiko sure wasn't going to let him get out of this.

"So you'll come be our volunteer sir?" she asked, being the word twister she was.

Neji glared. "No." There was nothing in the whole world that could make him-Neji Hyuuga, of the great Hyuuga clan-become the object of Tenten's torture.

Suddenly, Tenten spoke up. She was using the baby voice she used when she convinced him to come to the Dunk Tank with her. "Please Neji?"

The boy in question turned towards her and his face softened ever so slightly. She had taken out the secret weapon: puppy dog eyes. No! He would not break down. It was disgusting dirty water with who knows what in it! It might not even be water, and if it was, it was ancient! Why do you think that guy threw up when he saw the water? This was final. Neji Hyuuga was _not_ going in that Dunk Tank.

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"Thanks Neji!" Tenten waved happily up at the spot he was currently sitting in. So much for not breaking down. 

"Hn," he muttered, crossing his arms. He shifted his position on the blue board. Tenten just had to go and pull out the fake tears, didn't she?

The weapons mistress noticed the drop in Neji's _sunny disposition_ and tried to cheer him up._ Let's see... he obviously doesn't want to be up there so... he wants to get down as quick as possible!_ "I'll hurry up okay?" _Yep, that'll cheer him up for sure!_ Tenten heard a barely audible "hn" and accepted it as a fine.

She fingered the thin cloth in her hand and focused on the target less than ten feet away from her. She pulled back her arm and was met with a huge splash.

Neji sighed. It was times like these that he wished Tenten didn't have one hundred percent accuracy. He was soaked to the bone in stuff that sure as hell didn't feel like water and the humiliation was undescribable. Oh, Tenten owed him big time.

"Neji-kun are you okay?" Tenten asked, leaning over the edge of the Dunk Tank. She looked over at the non-moving form with deep concern. "Why aren't you moving? Did you hit your head?" She gasped. "Did you pass out like that other guy? Neji-kun?"

"I'm fine Tenten," he lied. Apparently he didn't notice the -kun either. The prodigy stood up in the water to ease Tenten's worry.

Aiko the worker walked over to the couple. "Thank you sir! Thank you!" She started to applaud and motioned for the crowd to do so as well. They clapped their hands but it was definitely not as energetic and loud as the one who suggested it. When Aiko got her fill of the disappointing applause, she turned back to Neji and Tenten. "Sir, would you like to stay for another dunk or do I need a new volunteer?" She smirked just to piss Neji off. It worked.

It's a surprise Aiko was still breathing at this point. Neji was soaked in... well something no one should be dropped in and it was making Tenten worry. That was something that anyone who cared about another person would get sadistic about. Him being the guy that almost killed his own cousin didn't help the fact one bit.

"Let's go Tenten," he commanded, trying to keep the growing anger out of his voice. Neji lifted himself out of the tank with ease and gracefully landed on his feet. The Hyuuga began walking away while motioning for Tenten to follow.

The weapons mistress obliged willingly and ran up to walk beside him.

Aiko knew this was coming and she felt she deserved the ten dollars slipped into her hand by a very clever butterfly. Then the pinstriped worker realized something. She just dunked one of her victims in 7 year old water people threw up in countless times before! That wasn't matchmaking at all!

"Sir and ma'am!" she yelled after the two brunettes, keeping her carnival lingo going.

The duo stopped for a brief second and the kinder of the two turned to face her. Once Aiko noticed she had caught their attention, she started to speak again. "Sir, if you want to wash off we have showers! They're employee only showers but no one goes in there anyway!" This seemed to spark Neji's attention. He told Tenten something and she cupped her hands around her mouth so her voice could reach farther.

"Where are they?" she asked over the screams and music.

Aiko scrunched up her nose in irritation. It seemed that Neji was too high and mighty to waste his voice. "They're right behind the Dunk Tank!" she answered despite her annoyance. The worker pointed behind her to a large building that went unnoticed earlier on.

Dripping wet and cold, a hot shower appealed to Neji. He calmly walked back towards the Tank of Evil. Even though Neji would rather run to it with tears of joy in his pearly white eyes, he couldn't. Every member of the Hyuuga family had to keep up the cool and calm demeanor and he was incapable of crying. Well, he did cry at the Chuunin exams when he got the note his father had written years before but that was a different story.

As Neji walked back to the tank, Tenten turned to follow. When they had reached Aiko, Tenten stopped to let Neji go on ahead. The man needed his privacy after all. To pass time, she watched Aiko pick another _volunteer_ from the crowd. Everyone that threw had such terrible aim that Tenten had given free quick lessons to each of them. Kindness was a great thing.

Within ten minutes Neji had come out of the showers with his Konoha headband in his hand. Everything except his hair was dry. It seemed that there was a quick dry machine in the showers so Neji had dried his clothes while he took the shower. It's surprising that they have enough money to get a quick dry machine in a building no one uses but they don't have enough to refill the Dunk Tank's water every day? Carnivals these days...

"Feeling better Neji?" Tenten asked once he had reached the two brunettes. Neji nodded softly.

"Hahahaha!" Aiko burst out laughing. She clutched her aching stomach with one hand while the other pointed at Neji's uncombed mass of snarled hair. "The gr-great pro-prodigy of-of the Hyu-yuuga clan look-looking like-like... _that_!" Aiko mocked between fits of giggles.

It was quite a sight to see. The stoic teen's usually straight shiny hair was so tangled that it made it impossible for the sun to give it that radiant glow his fan girls have come to know and love. Poor Neji's pride and joy was ruined.

Neji shot Aiko the deadliest glare he could muster at the moment. She deserved it after making fun of his hair! T-T His beautiful, beautiful hair that was now... ruined.

The worker saw the deadly look she was receiving and immediately ceased her laughter. Yes, even though Neji looked like an electrucuted cat his glares were _that _strong. She reached into her white slacks and pulled out a thin comb. It was one of those small and useless combs that never work unless you had the patience to work out every snarl one by one. Aiko held it out in front of her as a peace offering.

Neji eyed it warily, as though it would cause all of his precious hair to fall out. When he decided to refuse the gift, Tenten snatched it out of her friend's hand.

"Thanks Aiko!" the weapons mistress said kindly as she took Neji's hand. "I promise I'll come back soon!" And with that she led Neji towards a bench. This one was surprisingly gum free. Tenten rounded back on Neji, still managing to hold his hand. Neji didn't notice. "Sit down," she commanded, pointing to one end of the bench with her free hand.

The Hyuuga did just that. It was a bad idea to not listen to Tenten when she was in a superior mood. Once he was situated, Tenten released his hand.

Neji just realized she was holding his hand when the relaxing warmth left. His disappointment was quickly replaced with content as Tenten settled herself behind him on the bench, comb in hand.

Gently, putting her hand on top of his head, she lifted the other and dug the comb into his hair. She began at the top, bringing the comb down less than half an inch before it got stuck in tangles. Slowly but surely, Tenten worked the knots out of her teammate's beloved hair.

It took ten agonizing minutes to get it one fourth of the way untangled and it was going to take much longer now that Neji's hair was drying in the mid-day heat. It was a good thing Tenten would work patiently as long as it took. This was obviously important to Neji and that meant something to the young kunoichi. Running her fingers through his hair was a plus too.

Tenten was halfway done now. She moved her hand from its spot on the top of Neji's hair and put it in the rich brown strands. This Neji noticed.

"What are you doing Tenten?" he asked, shocked that she would touch his hair in such a way his fan girls wanted to.

The brunette was confused by his question. "I'm combing your hair. You didn't know that?" _Wasn't Neji supposed to be a genius?_ She asked herself since she was too polite to say it outloud.

"I know that," Neji said, obviously annoyed. He reached behind him and grasped the arm that held the hand in his hair. "Why do you have your hand buried in my hair?"

Tenten's eyes widened and a heavy blush graced her features. He didn't notice her hand holding his or the 'Neji-kun-' thing but of course he notices her hand when it came in contact with his hair. Irony was a bitch. "It's there for stability Neji," she lied. He could believe that. It was a rational explanation. The hand made sure that the hair didn't move so the knots were easier to get out and it made it less painful for Neji. He couldn't possibly realize that his hair was so soft and smooth between her fingers... right? Right.

Neji seemed to buy her explanation and let go of her arm slowly.

Tenten proceeded doing her task, the pink lingering on her cheeks. The hand that had caused the trouble remained in its silky bonds and Tenten was content to have it there. She was on the last bunch of tangles already. Making sure to be gentle, Tenten tugged on the knot and it fell loose. The kunoichi ran her fingers all the way down to the bottom of Neji's hair, checking for snarls.

She felt Neji stiffen at the touch for a brief second but he soon relaxed, lightly leaning into her touch. If Tenten didn't have ninja skills, she wouldn't have noticed this slight action. She smiled warmly and continued running her fingers through the prodigy's long hair.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kiba and Shino watched the little scene in a nearby bush. 

"Do you think that Dunk Tank worker got the money and instructions?" Kiba asked, keeping his eyes focused on the couple in front of him.

"Yes," Shino whispered back, not wanting to explain that she _had_ to have gotten the bribe and instructions since Kiba's idea was going exactly as planned. Shino felt as though he should congratulate his teammate on the genius breakthrough. It seemed romance was the Dog Boy's talent. "Kiba go-"

"Shh!" Kiba hissed, cutting Shino off. "I'm trying to listen."

Never mind. No congratulations were in order at all.

* * *

Tenten and Neji stood up from the comfy spot on the bench. The Hyuuga put on his headband and turned around to face Tenten. She smiled up at him and began to speak. "Where do you want to go now Neji?" 

"Anywhere," he replied but remembered his horrific water incident earlier that day. "Except there." Neji nudged his head in the direction of the Dunk Tank where Aiko was already wreaking more havoc. Then he realized something. This was Aiko's plan all along! Oh, he'd get her that was for sure.

At Neji's afterthought, Tenten felt a batch of giggles form in the back of her throat but she quickly shoved them down. "So you're sure that you'll go any-"

"Tenten," Neji called her name cutting her off. He looked away from her once he saw he got her attention. It was now or never. He took a deep breath and well... he kissed her.

It was a short kiss. A _very_ short kiss. When Tenten had registered it, Neji had withdrawn already.

"Thank you," he mumbled quietly while trying to look anywhere except at the blushing kunoichi he just kissed.

_Thank you? For what? His hair? _Tenten smirked inwardly. _I have to comb his hair more often. _"Let's eat Neji," Tenten suggested, grabbing his warm hand once more. She smiled up at him cutely. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

The taller brunette glanced at her. "Hn," he agreed and let Tenten lead him towards another striped tent. He could get Aiko back later. Today was going to be much better than he originally thought and it would be wasted just to go after a pointless revenge.

* * *

Once the couple was out of sight, Kiba asked Shino another question. "Do we go and tell Temari?" They'd have to eventually. She did have the idea to go around and do this matchmaking thing after all. 

Shino shrugged but quickly thought of an answer. "She's setting people up too. We'll tell her later," he said, ending the conversation.

And Kiba was back to where he was in the beginning.

* * *

**kawaii-firestar- Yay! Chapter's finished! I have a question for all of you and I hope you'll answer. There is another worker in the next chapter and I need a Japanese name for her. If anyone has a suggestion please tell me. I forgot to ask last chapter so my editor told me to do Aiko. Anyways, thanks for reading!**


	4. Sweet Treat

**kawaii-firestar- Yay!!! Chapter 4 everyone! It would have gotten out sooner but when your computer crashes what can you do? A big thanks to my reviewers! A special thanks to mikannatsume. The huge list of names was cool and I used one of them for the worker. Thankseveryone and onto chapter 4!**

* * *

"We must be off!" Lee cried, tugging on Chouji's arm with all his might. It seemed that even Rock Lee's super-trained muscles didn't have enough strength to move a member of the Akimichi clan.

"Six large Cotton Candy on a stick," Chouji ordered, ignoring his bowl cut haired companion completely. He glanced at the golden name tag pinned to the striped shirt of the girl in front of him. "Misaki," he said to be polite. He had enough experience to know that you shouldn't be rude to the one making the glorious wonder of your food.

"Right away sir," the female worker responded. She wore an uniform similar to the Dunk Tank worker but it had blue stripes to compliment the bubblegum pink, pastel purple, and sky blue of the Cotton Candy stand. "Oh sir," Misaki started, ending her retreat to the back by turning to her customer again. "What colors would you prefer?" She gestured towards to three bagged samples with colors matching the stands.

Chouji thought for a second while trying to block out the incessant nagging of the youth-loving male next to him. "Just give me two of each," he decided.

"Of course sir." With that, she disappeared into the back of the Cotton Candy stand to make the fluffy sugar we've come to know and love.

"Please!" Lee pleaded, being noticed for the first time in two minutes. "I must help restore my fellow ninja's youthful flame! It will bring them such everlasting joy tha-" The ranting teen stopped. His circular eyes grew even larger as he spotted something behind Chouji's shoulder.

Chouji sighed in relief. Lee had finally shut up. His tortured ears could rest for the first time in twenty minutes.

At this time, the Cotton Candy worker came back, said sugary treats in hand. "Here you are sir," she said, handing Chouji the Cotton Candy.

Stuffing two in his pockets, two in his headband/hat thing, and keeping the last two in his hands, Chouji thanked her and turned towards Lee. Okay this was weird. Lee was in the same position as earlier: frozen, looking over Chouji's shoulder with huge saucer eyes.

"Are you okay?" Chouji asked, waving a Cotton Candy filled hand in front of the un-moving teens face. His only answer was a shaky hand pointing behind him.

Chouji turned around and took a bite out of the purple fluff in his hand. He squinted at the two approaching figures in ninja attire. Sasuke and Sakura were headed straight towards the Cotton Candy stand. In other words, they were walking towards them. If Chouji and Lee were to hook up the couple they couldn't be seen no matter what! And here Lee was, standing still practically asking if they could be spotted.

Chouji sighed again but this time it was in annoyance. He swallowed the rest of the Cotton Candy in his right hand and grabbed Lee with his now free hand. Throwing the thoroughly shocked Bushy Brows in the row of bushes behind the pastel-colored stand, Chouji told the pinstriped worker something. Once he saw Misaki nod in agreement, Chouji wasted no more time. He dived into the bushes just as the Uchiha and Haruno approached the stand.

"Sasuke, why did you do that?" Sakura asked, sounding extremely exhausted. The rosette shifted her attention onto the Cotton Candy worker. "One small pink Cotton Candy please?"

"Coming right up!" Misaki chirped and disappeared into the back again.

Sakura turned back to the stoic teen next to her. "Well Sasuke Uchiha?" she asked, putting obvious anger in her voice to show her withering patience.

Sasuke almost winced at the tone of her voice. It was just like the one his mother used when he did something stupid like practice his fireball jutsu in the kitchen. He quickly shrugged off the feeling. "He was annoying," Sasuke answered point blank, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets.

Sakura sighed. "Sasuke, he's the Strongman. He's supposed to lift weights and gloat about it."

"He called me weak."

Well, the Uchiha still had that little ego problem, didn't he?

"That still didn't give you the right to chuck a 2000lb weight at his head while yelling 'Are you strong enough to catch this, dumb ass?!'" Sakura scolded, trying to hold in her laughter, yet failing. Thinking back, he did have it coming to him.

A loud crash followed by a dull thud snapped Sakura out of her thoughts.

* * *

"Oh no!" Misaki cried. She was leaning out of her stands back window. The bushes that hid two shinobi were under her. 

Chouji had asked her if he and Lee could borrow the CD player he had seen in the stand. She didn't ask any questions and nodded dumbly. So here she was, leaning through a window, worrying because she just dropped the heavy, loaf of bread sized CD player onto Rock Lee's poor defenseless head. It was a good thing he used so much hair grease to maintain that creepy bowl shape, or else that impact would have done more than knock him out.

"I'm sorry," Misaki whispered to Lee's limp form.

"What was that?" Sakura's concerned voice rang throughout the stand.

Misaki shot up at the sudden noise, accidentally banging her head on the windowsill. She clutched the blue and white cap on her head in pain. "Oh I just dropped my box full of Cotton Candy recipes that's all!" she shouted, trying to keep the pain out of her voice. "Your Cotton Candy will be up soon!" She quickly grabbed a paper cone and began twirling the pink fluff that had formed in the odd machine around it.

* * *

"It's taking her too long," Sasuke grumbled. 

"She's probably just picking up her Cotton Candy recipes," his pink haired companion reasoned. Something clicked in Sakura's head at her statement. "Hey Sasuke," she started. He looked at her. "Is there such a thing? A Cotton Candy recipe I mean."

Sasuke shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I've never had Cotton Candy before."

"What?!?!?!" Two screams rang out, so high pitched that only a girl could be capable of doing so.

_Great. She just had to come back now. _A certain navy haired ninja thought in annoyance.

"How could you not have had Cotton Candy before?" Misaki asked in utter disbelief. She turned towards Sakura and replaced her open gaping mouth with a large smile. "Your Cotton Candy ma'am." She extended the arm with the sugary treat at the end of it and Sakura took it thankfully. Misaki glanced over at Sasuke but switched her gaze to Sakura soon after.

She had a plan.

"Ma'am if you don't mind me saying, I'd let him try some of yours." She smiled innocently and disappeared into the back of the stand once again.

"That's a good idea!" Sakura praised. She turned towards Sasuke and ripped off a piece of the sweet fluff. The rosette held it out for Sasuke to take.

Instead of grabbing it like Sakura had expected, he stared at it as if it were poisoned. First Neji with the comb and now Sasuke with Cotton Candy? Prodigy's these days...

Sakura's mouth curved into a slight pout. "C'mon eat it Sasuke," she urged while edging the pink fluff closer to the Uchiha's emotionless face. To Sakura's disappointment, he shook his head. "Sasuke!" she whined. "Just eat the Cotton Candy!"

"No Sa-" Sasuke was silenced as the Cotton Candy was shoved into his open mouth.

Sakura smirked at her victory. She watched as Sasuke's eyes lit up at the taste of sugar and then they burnt out just as fast.

Sasuke looked at his team mate in confusion_. Was that genjutsu or something_? "Where'd it go Sakura?" Yes, even the great Sasuke Uchiha didn't know everything.

Sakura laughed softly at his five-year-old antics. "Sasuke, Cotton Candy is pure sugar. Once it meets the saliva in your mouth it dissolves," she explained in her all-knowing voice.

Sasuke scoffed. "Sugar isn't fluffy." And to believe she was laughing at him. Psh! He wasn't stupid.

The rosette fought off the uncontrollable urge to laugh. "They use a machine to turn colored sugar from packets into fluff."

Not finding a reply to her correct explanation, Sasuke gave a small "Hn." in reply. He saw Sakura lift a dainty hand up to her mouth so her fit of giggles would at least be muffled. His onyx eyes followed her hand as it traveled back down to the miracle sugar he just previously tasted. He remembered the pleasant ring on his taste buds when the sweet fluff reached them. How he wanted to taste the Cotton Candy again! The fact that the said sugary substance was less than an arm's length away didn't help the situation at all.

Sakura had an odd felling. It was as if she was being watched-no... more like the thing in her hand was being watched. She looked over at the only person there at the moment and saw that Sasuke was staring intently at her Cotton Candy. Whether he knew he was or not, she didn't know.

The kunoichi smiled and held the Cotton Candy out to him. "Want some more?"

Snapping out of his sugar filled haze, Sasuke looked up at Sakura's smiling face. Keeping his cool calm demeanor, Sasuke nodded and eagerly reached for the pink candy.

Almost instantly, low romantic music began playing. It was just instruments. No voices. No cheesy lyrics. Just pure music. Even though it was the type of music to be played in a dimly lit room it set the mood perfectly and seemed to come out of no where giving it the 'Surprise! I love you!' message. Yep, it was perfect. The effect would be completely ruined if the couple knew that it was just Chouji pressing the 'play' button on the CD player with a still unconscious Lee at his feet, but as I said before, they didn't know that.

The two Konoha ninja looked around confusedly for a few seconds before deciding the Cotton Candy needed their attention much more than the music did.

This was a new sensation to Sasuke. The first bite of Cotton Candy was his first time eating sugar. I know! How could he have lived? Well, the Uchiha's never had any form of sugar in their house because Itachi _loathed_ the sweet crystal with every fiber of his being. Once the sugar hater killed the whole clan, Sasuke never had the chance to know how wonderful it was. Therefore, whenever he had to buy food he ignored sugar completely. Damn the things he missed! The sudden jolt of flavor was pure ecstasy and once the Cotton Candy dissolved, the lingering feeling only made the young Uchiha yearn for more.

Eat more is exactly what he did.

Sakura had the urge to laugh again. Right before her was Sasuke Uchiha going gaga over something as simple as pink Cotton Candy. It was classic. It really was.

Within a few minutes the Cotton Candy was down to its last pink tuft.

Sasuke reached out for it but his efforts were in vain.

Sakura smiled happily while the Cotton Candy in her mouth slowly dissolved. The last bite did always taste the best.

Onyx eyes widened in shock. The sweet sweet sugar was gone! How could someone of his stature have let this tragedy happen? He was an Uchiha and Uchiha's don't let people walk over them! Sakura was about to face the wrath of a sugar crazed teenager that was for sur-hold that thought.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes to get a clearer line of vision. _So I wasn't hallucinating._ Right before him was the last piece of Cotton Candy. It was going completely unnoticed by the young kunoichi and that was exactly what Sasuke needed. The only problem was that the Cotton Candy was on... Sakura's lips.

He couldn't eat it now!

Sure, Sasuke still harbored feelings for the pink haired medic but she couldn't possibly like him after the whole betraying Konoha and only coming back because Naruto dragged his sorry ass back to the village thing. Hell he wouldn't forgive himself so why would she_? Easy. She's Sakura_.

That was all he needed to know.

Sasuke's eyes were glued to the pink fluff resting on Sakura's equally pink lips. He knew the probable consequences but damn it looked so tempting! Maybe just this once...

Sakura blinked. Why was Sasuke looking at her like that? He hadn't talked ever since she explained how Cotton Candy was made and now he was staring at her. Yeah, she liked the attention but he was Sasuke. The only reason he could possibly be looking at her would be if something was on her face. Was there?

She reached a delicate hand up to her face to find the answer of her previous question. The hand reached her lips first since they were one of the lowest points on her face. Instantly, Sakura felt the sticky fluff Sasuke's eyes were currently glued to.

Realization hit and the rosette lowered her hand so she could lick the Cotton Candy off her mouth.

_She's not._ Sasuke threatened in his head, subconsciously glaring as if she would get the hint. Sakura didn't catch on, the Uchiha soon noticed when her bubblegum pink tongue peeked out from between her lips. His eyes widened. _She is!_

Sasuke acted on impulse and quickly lowered his face down to Sakura's. His lips crashed onto hers and he instantly felt the pink haired girl stiffen in shock. Using this as an advantage, Sasuke darted his tongue out from his own lips and lapped up the last remaining piece of fluffed sugar on Sakura's lips.

Once he made sure none of the sweet substance remained, Sasuke slowly-if reluctantly-broke the kiss. He licked his lips to taste every last piece of sugar. Wow... he really _was_ deprived as a child.

* * *

"Yes I'm recording this," Misaki whispered to Chouji, keeping her volume as low as she possibly could. The video camera in her hand was beginning to feel heavy and the strain was starting to take over. 

Ever since she retreated to the back of her wonderful stand, Misaki was conned into filming the fateful scene between the two teens. From Sakura force feeding Sasuke the first bite of Cotton Candy to the kiss, Misaki had kept the camera perfectly still. Fifteen minutes of stillness while constant paranoia peeled at you to not get caught was torture.

Why was she even doing this?

These people were total strangers and they were demanding so many things of her. She so deserved a raise for all this! Stupid matchmaker instinct all carnival employees were required to have...

A slap snapped Misaki out of her thoughts. She inched her head closer to the video camera. _What's going on? Slapping should have nothing to do with kissing. Unless... _"Sir," she said, tilting her head toward Chouji. He looked at her, a piece of Cotton Candy still stuffed in his mouth. "Tone down the music. The mood is definitely ruined."

* * *

Sakura was pissed. 

Sasuke had decided this right when she slapped him. Right now, he was frozen, his head stuck in a sharp angle while a bruise rested on his cheek. Five, ten minutes, he didn't know how long he stood there. The only thing Sasuke knew was that when he turned back towards Sakura, he wished he hadn't.

"You kissed me!" she yelled, pointing out the obvious. "You _kissed _me! Not because you wanted to either! Of course some stupid little piece of Cotton Candy is so important that you have to kiss a girl to stop her from eating it first! I bet you'd kiss any girl if you'd get Cotton Candy, wouldn't you Sasuke?" Sakura stopped momentarily to see Sasuke's reaction. His emotionless face just fueled her anger. "Well fine! All other girls are probably shallow enough not to care because you're Sasuke Uchiha. Well let me tell you something you pompous bastard!" She jabbed a finger on his chest at the insult. "I'm not like those other girls! If you kiss me then you have to mean it! What do you say to that?"

Feeling satisfied, Sakura crossed her arms across her chest and waited for the 'pompous bastard's' reply. What Sakura didn't expect was a sharp tug on her arm and the same feeling of Sasuke's lips on hers.

Cue the music.

He pulled away sooner than before. After all, he wasn't on a mission to clean off every piece of Cotton Candy from Sakura's lips this time around.

The pink haired kunoichi opened her previously closed eyes and saw a smirking Uchiha looking right back at her.

"How was that?"

For a second, Sakura was dumbfounded by his question but she quickly was struck with an idea. She fisted his shirt in her hands and put on a fake glare. "I said to kiss me like you meant it."

He didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

**kawaii-firestar- And done! Now the next chapter might take a while because when I'm most likely to get done with it I'm going on vacation to my aunt's cabin and I doubt my cousin will let me borrow the computer. Reviews make me smile! D**


	5. Hypnotized

**kawaii-firestar- Okay you can kill me now. It took forever!!! I'm so so so so sorry!!! I promise I'll post the next chapter in two days or even tomorrow! Sure the next chapter won't have any pairing but it wouldn't fit if I combined both 6 and 7! Besides Taco-chan won't edit it if I do that. Anyways, please enjoy! **

* * *

"Where the hell is everyone?!?!" Temari cried in anguish, punching a defenseless wall. She was sure she followed Shikamaru and Ino towards the array of multi-colored booths, so why wasn't there any sign of them? Even if the Team 10 duo had moved somewhere else, shouldn't there have a least been _one_ other pair? Yes, there _should_ have been another pair but statistics weren't working for her today.

Why?

Just because she decided to switch Kankuro's purple face paint with hot wax, lock him outside the house when there was a raging sandstorm outside with only his pajamas on, and tell Gaara that Kankuro said he was obviously gay (which resulted in a lot of pain on Kankuro's part), the whole world decided to turn against her! Stupid damn karma...

"Temari, if we're supposed to be undercover you shouldn't be yelling like that," Kankuro pointed out. He glanced at his red haired brother for support, but, as expected, all he got was a blank stare.

So, the brunette nudged him.

His response this time was a punch to face for disturbing Gaara's peaceful 'reflection period'. Sure part of the punch was because he still hadn't forgiven him for the gay comment, but it was mostly about the 'reflection period'.

Temari had missed all of this in her blinding rage and decided it was time to reply.

"There's no point in keeping quiet when there's nobody around!" she shot back, ignoring the annoyed glances directed her way.

"People are around; you're just going about finding them the wrong way."

"Then what do you propose we do, Dr.Phil?" Temari asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Before Kankuro could respond, Gaara broke in with a semi-amused look and asked, "Dr.Phil?"

The sudden talking of Gaara didn't faze either of the siblings and Temari took it as her cue to explain.

"Listen to him!" she yelled, pointing at Kankuro as if he were a deadly disease. "He's acting all calm and rational and saying 'It'll all work out if you think things through' and all that other therapist crap! Stupid Kankuro..." she pouted, crossing her arms.

"Hey!" the puppet man cried. "I'm trying to help!"

Temari shifted her attention to her much less cooler brother. "Some help! We're worse off than before!"

"That's because you're being difficult!"

"Me?!?! Why you little-"

"They're here," Gaara cut in.

His siblings ceased their bickering and looked around frantically. They knew who Gaara was talking about so when Temari pointed out a pineapple shaped head being dragged around by a bubbly blonde, it came as no shock.

"Finally!" The blond whispered/cheered, pumping a fist in the air. She motioned for her brothers to be quiet and inched towards an overly extravagant tent while Kankuro and Gaara followed.

The Sand Siblings managed to enter the purple striped tent undetected and it stayed that way until they turned away from the tent opening.

A girl in her late teens was seated behind a large circular table covered in an indigo sheet. The smoky orb in the center of the table obscured most of her body but the amethyst robe she was in was still visible. She had short blonde hair covered in a magenta turban and bright blue eyes.

The girl smiled lazily. "Sup?" she greeted, giving the ninja a peace sign.

Temari and Kankuro blinked.

They looked at each other to see of the other found this odd. Simultaneous sighs of relief escaped their mouths and they turned towards Gaara to see his reaction.

The two gasped dramatically.

Their supposedly sane yet stoic little brother was returning the girl's peace sign gesture. Then, to top it all off, he spoke. "Suki," he said as a greeting.

The girl, Suki, smiled even wider. "Ah, Sabaku no Gaara. Good to see you again. It seems you're keeping up with refining your mind body and soul. Very good."

_So that explains all the 'reflection periods' _Kankuro thought, finally understanding why his brother would suddenly 'reflect ' on his life at any odd moment.

"What brings you three here?" Suki asked, finally lowering her peace sign. She leaned back in her cushy purple chair and eyed them all with interest.

"Shouldn't you know?" Temari asked, much to Kankuro's confusion.

Suki folded her hands in her lap and continued to smile serenely. "What makes you say that, Temari?" Her smile grew wider at Kankuro's shock. They hadn't told her their names yet and she knew them as though they were old friends. Weird...

Temari, however, wasn't fazed. "The sign out side your tent makes me say that. May I?" she asked, not really caring if Suki said no.

Luckily, Suki saw this as the most interesting thing all day and nodded to show her consent.

Temari reached out of the tent flap and, after a loud screechy sound, pulled a flashing violet neon sign into the tent. She held it up high so it was easy to read from all sides.

**Madame Suki**

_**Psychic extraordinaire**_

Suki, or Madame Suki, smiled even wider if possible.

"Alright, so I know you're here bacuse you're trying to spy on two others, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka, and you're spying so, whent he chance comes, you can use some crazy sceme to make them realize their undenaiable love for each other." She cocked her head to the side, the smile still placed on her lips. "Am I right?"

Temari glared.

She knew full well that she was right but she just had to go and mock them about it. She always hated psychics. Oh well. This one could come in handy. "Yeah you're right," Temari replied rather stiffly. "So you'll lnow what I'm going to ask next, right?"

"Yup," Suki said. "And I'll be glad to preform hypnosis on Shikamaru Nara for you and your brothers." The blonde mentally smirked at the looks of annoyance she was recieving. Ah, the joys of beong a psychic.

"Thanks," Temari mumbled, not sounding thankful at all.

"Don't mention it," the psychic said, waving it off. Ignoring the look that said 'the-day-I-mentioned-that-would-be-the-day-Gaara-dyed-his-hair-pink', Suki continued. "I'd hide soon because the two in our current conversation are going to enter this tent in 64 seconds. Go on." she added when no one moved.

Those two words seemed to trigger an alarm in Temari and Kankuro's heads and they scrambled to find a hiding place.

Through all the chaos, Gaara walked over to an exceptionally cushy chair, sat down, draped a blanket over himself, and decided to take a nap.

After a long minute, all three of the Sand Siblings were hidden from sight and two of them were listening intently.

"C'mon Shikamaru!"A bubbly voice called from outside the tent.

"What's the point?" Shikamaru's lazy drawl replied. "It's going to be some scam that's too troublesome to even bother with," he continued, being the optimistic guy he always is.

"One time won't hurt so come on!" Ino yelled as the tent flap flew open. The platinum blonde stepped onto the fluffy orchid carpet and threw Shikamaru on the floor.

Suki, once again, smiled. These two were so weird and acted so uncivil towards each other that they themselves probably overlooked the fact that they loved each other. Hell, if Suki wasn't a _very_ talented psychic she wouldn't have known of their secret attraction either. Again, the joys of being a psychic.

"Sup, Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka," she greeted, lifting up another peace sign.

The teen's attention snapped onto her.

"How do you know our names?" Shikamaru asked.

Everyone else in the room gasped but only two of the five were heard.

"Shikamaru," Ino gaped," she's a psychic. It said so on all those signs outside. You had to know that!" Needless to say, she was shocked beyond all comparison. Really, this was the Chuunin with over 200 IQ we're talking about!

The genius rolled his eyes at the shock in the room. "Psychics are scam artists. She couldn't have known what our names are."

"But I just did, didn't I?" Suki asked, keeping unusually calm for someone who was just called a scam artist. "Would you like me to convince you Shikamaru?" she asked in that eerily calm voice.

"How?" he asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Let me hypnotize you." Was her simple answer.

Ino looked star struck at the chance of seeing someone be hypnotized right in front of her very eyes. "He'll do it!" she yelled throwing her arms in the air from joy.

Shikamaru sighed. When Ino had made up her mind there was no changing it. _This Madame Suki won't be able to do it. She's a scam artist like all the rest._ he thought, trying to convince himself he would be fine.

"Great!" Suki exclaimed, shocking everyone in the room. She jumped out of her chair and hopped up to Shikamaru and Ino. "Come! Sit!" she commanded, dragging the ninja behind her with unexpected enthusiasm.

Suki roughly pushed the couple into identical purple chairs on the other side of her round table. She sat down in her chair again and it bounced front he sudden pressure. Suki clapped her hands onto the table, folded them, and smiled a happy-go-lucky smile.

The pair in front of her could only blink.

Too many things happened in the last five seconds that it caused an overload in even Shikamaru's great mind. Lucky for them, they were also ninja so they snapped out of their daze quickly.

"Ready to be hypnotized Shikamaru?" Suki asked. Without waiting for an answer, she pulled a long silver chain out of her robe and raised it high over the table. The sparkling amethyst at the end dangled centimeters from the covered surface.

Ino averted her eyes from the gem to avoid being hypnotized while Shikamaru looked at it halfheartedly.

Suki began to swing the chain like a pendulum and Shikamaru's eyes seemed to be glued to the crystal at the end. Ever so slowly, Shikamaru's head began to droop. Lower... lower... lower... and... thud.

At the noise, Suki flipped the chain back into her hand and fitted it snugly back in her robe. She was quite proud of herself. He bought it quicker than she thought he would.

"Madame Suki?" Ino asked, poking Shikamaru with her index finger. "I'm not sure you did anything. He probably just got bored and went to sleep again."

Suki gave her a closed eyed smile and shook her head. "No, I'm pretty sure I hypnotized him." She saw the look of subtle disbelief on Ino's face so the psychic said "Ask him any question and he'll reply truthfully."

Ino still looked unconvinced. How do you talk to a sleeping person? She sighed and decided to try it. Madame Suki _was_ a psychic after all. "What's your name?" she asked Shikamaru's slumbering form.

"Shikamaru Nara," he mumbled, the voice muffled by the arms he was lying on.

Ino had to refrain herself from squealing and yelling "Oh my god! He answered!" She was in the presence of someone so fully composed, aka Suki, after all.

"How do I know he's not just sleep talking?" Ino asked the other blonde.

Suki had a feeling this question would arise (_Of course I did, I'm psychic _she thought) and had an answer ready for the time. "Ask him something he'd never say unless he was forced." _Like now..._

Ino lifted her finger to her chin and struck a thinking pose.

Soon after, she snapped her fingers and a light bulb turned on over her head. "Shikamaru, what does Chouji do right before he goes to sleep?" He just had to know this. They all had to share a tent on the first-hand missions while Asuma-sensei had a tent all to his self.

Without a moments hesitation, Shikamaru said, "He cuddles with a pillow shaped like barbecue ribs."

Well that settled it! Shikamaru was definitely hypnotized. Madame Suki said to ask him anything. Might as well have fun poking around Shikamaru's mind for a bit.

"Do you _really_ want to be a cloud?"

"Yes."

Ino sweat dropped. Her crush was so weird.

What else to ask? Well, it's a known fact that girls want to know if the object of their affections likes them back, so Ino decided to act on that impulse.

"Do you think I'm pretty, Shikamaru?" she asked, scooting over to sit on the edge of her chair.

Suki smiled at Ino's question. Young love really was a beautiful thing.

"That and so much more." Was the brunette's answer.

Ino's eyes widened. One of the reasons was because Shikamaru just said she was even better than pretty and the other was he just said one the cheesiest lines in existence.

The blonde decided to try a different tactic of finding out if Shikamaru liked her to avoid further shellshock.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" she asked, leaning forward on her chair in anticipation.

His hypnotized form hesitated. Then, slowly, Shikamaru spoke. "Yes."

Ino almost had a heart attack from the speed at her heart was racing. She leaned even closer to the boy lying on the purple table and clasped her petite hands together in hope.

"Who is it?"

There was another prolonged moment of silence. It seemed that Shikamaru was fighting against the hypnotization. Too bad he was too lazy to really try longer than two seconds.

"You."

Simultaneous gasps rang throughout the room but they were drowned out by the loud clunk of chairs falling over and a shriek of "I love you!"

That's right. Ino jumped out of her chair and tackled Shikamaru while proclaiming her love out of pure joy. This resulted on Shikamaru's hypnosis breaking and the click of a recorder being turned off.

Shikamaru looked down at the girl clinging to him like a life raft. "Ino," he started, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. "What happened?" he asked, even though he knew exactly what happened for the past ten minutes.

Ino just clung on tighter at these words. "I love you too Shika!" she exclaimed, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.

The genius was at a loss for words. So, he just offered her a rare smile.

The moment was perfect in their opinion. They only had eyes for each other and it was quiet, as if the world was just waiting for them at this moment. They began to lean towards each other. Closer and closer they got and then...

"Ahem," Suki coughed to bring the two back to reality.

Ino scrambled to get off Shikamaru as she had been laying on him when they fell.

Once they both regained balance, Ino fished out ten dollars from her pocket. She slapped the money on the table and dragged Shikamaru towards the tent flap.

"Come again," Suki called to their retreating figures. When she was sure they were out of sight and she knew no one else would be coming for another twenty minutes, Suki propped her feet up on the table.

The Sand Siblings took this as their cue to come out of hiding.

Temari clapped her hand on Suki's shoulder and grinned. "Nice job. I'm gonna get big bucks for this tape here," she said, lifting up a pocket tape recorder and waggling it around in the air.

So that explained the sudden kindness on Temari's part.

"Hypnotization is really your talent Madame Suki."

Suki smiled at the three Sand Shinobi. "Who said I hypnotized him?"

...For someone who's supposed to be a genius, Shikamaru can sure be an idiot.

* * *

**kawaii-firestar- Ahh! It sucked!!! My first time writing ShikaxIno was a bust! T-T Please review to lift my spirits. Oh btw. I change who the story's main characters are every chapter since it changes every chapter so I'll tell you people who search for this that next time it will be under Any/All. Buh bye now.**


	6. Plans

**kawaii-firestar- Okay so it wasn't 2 days but I still got it out in the same week. Sorry, no pairings in this chapter but I hope it's still good! Read on Naruto lovers, read on.**

**Disclaimer- Just because I for got the disclaimer doesn't mean I own Naruto... yet!**

* * *

In a shaded unoccupied corner of the carnival, seven figures stood. Two of the figures stepped forward, both casting shadows with points like devil horns on the heads.

The burlier of the two spoke first. "You got the stuff?" he asked, extending a thick arm.

"Depends, you got the green?" the other asked, pulling a bag out of his pocket. He extended an arm as well and to someone who didn't know better, it looked as if they were going to shake hands.

The larger one dug in his pocket with his free hand impatiently. He pulled out $1.49 and extended that arm too.

The second figure kept his face impassive and put both arms out just like the other man.

Both figures eyed each other airily but, nonetheless, began to move their hands towards their prizes. Slowly, carefully...

"Just give him the popcorn, Kankuro!" Temari yelled at her brother angrily. She shifted impatiently in her comfortable spot on a crate that was conveniently placed a few feet away from the two actors. They didn't have time to act like drug dealers, especially when their victims would be getting off the 'Tilt-A-Whirl' and heading towards the 'Haunted House' in ten minutes.

Why they had American amusement park rides in a Japanese carnival was a mystery to all.

"Fine," Kankuro pouted. He gave Chouji his popcorn, which he accepted gratefully, and took his money as payment. Then, he turned to face his sister to wait for further instructions on what to do next. She was the evil mastermind after all.

Chouji, Lee, Kiba, Shino, and Gaara all did the same.

"Now," Temari started once she had everyone's attention. "We all met up at the Hot Dog stand for lunch and found out that there will still be one more pair to pair up.

Naruto and Hinata will be one of the hardest pairs because Ramenboy is too dense and Shy Eyes is too worried to notice he likes her back." Temari wished she could just smack the two on the head to snap some sense into them but, then she couldn't use the cool codenames. "So we need a fool-proof plan to get those two together," the blonde concluded.

She looked at the six guys expectantly.

Chouji was stuffing his face with his newly acquired popcorn. Lee had scrunched his forehead together on thought, though all it did was make his freakishly large eyebrows look like a freakishly large unibrow. Kiba was cursing Tsunade for taking away his best friend. Shino was playing with his bugs. Gaara seemed to be off in his own world (_Probably another one of those 'reflection periods'_ Temari couldn't help but think). Kankuro had taken out his puppet long ago and was now polishing its wooden surface with extreme care.

_I guess fools can't make a fool-proof plan,_ Temari thought disdainfully.

"Okay pay attention!" she shouted, standing on top of the crate she was just sitting on. This captured their attention better than before and Temari swelled with pride at it.

"Madame Suki told me and my brothers that Naruto and Hinata are going to be entering the 'Haunted House' at exactly 2:33 and it is," she glanced at her watch, "2:26 right now. What we have to do is sneak into the ride and scare Hinata so much that Naruto will have to comfort her. Got it?"

Five of the six nodded.

Lee hand his hand high in the air and was jumping up and down to get Temari's attention. "Ooo! Ooo! Pick me! I have a _question!_" he squeaked.

Temari stared at Lee oddly. Then she had to contain her giggles. He really looked constipated right now.

"Bushy brows," she called, pointing at him with her index finger.

He immediately ceased his jumping and looked up at Temari with a strangely serious look on his face. "How are we getting the 'Haunted House'?"

Temari wanted to slap him for being so stupid. She sighed heavily instead and said, "We're ninja's. Enough said."

It seemed to click in Lee's head and he blushed at the realization his question was stupid.

"Now do we all understand?" Temari asked once more for good measure.

The six of them nodded.

"Good," Temari praised, happy that she didn't have to waste any more time. "The rest we will have to hope will play out." Temari jumped off her makeshift podium and landed softly on her feet. "Let's go." She ran off in the direction of the fake mansion.

The shinobi glanced at each other and ran after her not a second later.

* * *

**kawaii-firestar- Well that's it and I promise promise promise that I'll get the next chapter out within the next 2 weeks! Next chapter will be under the Naruto and Hinata main characters thing. Review for motivation please!**


	7. Spooks and Scares

**kawaii-firestar- Yep! It's me again with the last and (hopefully) well waited for chapter of Carnival Antics! I won't keep you waiting anymore but if you wanna hear my sad goodbye's read the author's note at the end. Love ya! D**

* * *

"Wasn't that fun Hinata?" Naruto asked her the second they stepped off the 'Tilt-a-whirl'. He looked at the girl in front of him in hope.

"Y-yes Na-Naruto," Hinata replied, like she did after every ride. At first it really was fun to go on the 'Wild Thing' but after the 'Corkscrew', 'Zipper', 'Flying Dominos', and several other topsy turvy rides; Hinata was getting kind of queasy.

Naruto grinned happily at her answer, momentarily oblivious to her pain. He had really wanted Hinata to have a good time today and each time she said she had, he couldn't help but grin. It was like Christmas came early!

Suddenly, Naruto's grin faltered.

"Hinata, why didn't you tell me you were getting sick?" he asked, eyeing her slightly green face with concern.

"Oh, um... I just," Hinata felt her face grow warm under the blonde's gaze, "I-um..."

"C'mon, let's sit down," Naruto suggested, grabbing her hand and leading her towards a bench. He saw her reddening face out of the corner of his eye and his worry increased ten-fold. "It looks like you're getting heat stroke too Hinata," he commented once they were seated on the bench.

He laid a hand on her forehead.

_Yep, she's really warm. _"Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?" he asked, almost hurt from this fact.

"I... um... I di-didn't notice," she lied. Hinata clasped her hands together behind her back, trying desperately to not twiddle her index fingers.

Naruto seemed to buy her lie and he withdrew his hand. "Let's go on a calmer ride, okay?" he said, giving her one of his infamous wide smiles.

His smile was so contagious, as Hinata soon found out, and the Hyuuga couldn't stop the edges of her mouth curl up in happiness. "O-okay Naruto," she agreed, finally lifting her face up to look into the blonde's eyes.

Said blonde gulped. _Wow... Hinata's really pretty, _he thought, staring at her in awe. This being the first time all day that had looked him in the eye was unsettling at first but her look of pure joy made it worth waiting for.

Naruto saw Hinata's face drop a bit and it returned to memorize the ground. He found out why when his jaw snapped shut.

_Shit..._

He ruined the best moment of the day with his idiocy! How to apologize... Well, he couldn't just say 'I'm sorry for gawking, Hinata. You just looked so pretty I couldn't help myself.' That would be plain old stupid. This is exactly why Naruto had contemplated the idea until his small amount of common sense knocked in.

"Hinata," Naruto started, lacing his fingers with her noticeably smaller ones. He didn't wait for a reaction as he knew he wouldn't get one. "Let's go to the 'Haunted House'!" he finished with an enthusiasm that was out-of-place for a moment like they were experiencing.

"Oh... okay..." Hinata agreed the disappointment in her voice too subtle for a certain dense shinobi to notice.

"Great!" Naruto exclaimed, enthusiasm never seeming to fade.

He tightened his grip on Hinata's hand and tugged it lightly. "Let's go!" he encouraged one more time, leading the blushing girl away the wooden bench.

* * *

Within five short minutes, Naruto had dragged Hinata across the whole carnival, only to stop at the entrance of the 'Haunted House'. The large gothic style building loomed in front of them and the way the sky suddenly turned pitch black and cloudy only added to the effect. Needless to say, it was very out-of-place in the cheery carnival. 

Naruto felt Hinata's hand tighten around his. He glanced over at her and smiled sympathetically.

She was clutching onto his hand for dear life and with her other hand she was fingering the fabric of her tan jacket.

Naruto squeezed her hand lightly and his reassurance snapped Hinata out of her fear induced state.

"Are you sure you want to go Hinata?" the blonde asked.

Of course she really didn't want to go but he just _had_ to ask to make sure. It's times like these that Naruto really deserved the nickname Konoha's Number One Knucklehead Ninja.

Hinata turned to face said idiot. _Naruto really wanted to go on this. I can do it for him._ She nodded and managed to look him in the eye.

He smiled. "Okay," he said, laying a hand on the door in front of them, "Here we go!" Forcing all his weight on his one hand, Naruto prepared to open the door.

It whipped open and he fell to the tiled floor in surprise, accidentally pulling Hinata down with him.

"Ah! Sorry Hinata!" Naruto apologized, snapping back up to lean at Hinata's side. He grabbed her arms and helped her up. At her slight wobble, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders (to which she blushed profusely).

He grinned sheepishly. "I guess I don't know my own strength."

"What strength?" two unknown voices asked in unison. "We're the ones that opened the door."

The two shinobi sapped their heads around to face the voices.

A pair of teenage girls with identical grins on their faces stood in front of them. Both had on gray striped carnival outfits with matching top hats that barely kept their emerald eyes visible. They had their arms wrapped around each others shoulders in a chummy way and pointed at themselves with their other hand.

"I'm Kiri," the girl on the left said.

"And I'm Keiko," the girl on the right continued.

"We're here to tell you-"

"Are you twins?" Naruto cut the duo off.

The workers didn't mind his rude outburst and they sighed exasperatedly.

"We wish," Kiri said, resting her head on Keiko's shoulder.

"Being plain old regular sisters gets boring," Keiko agreed, patting Kiri's head sympathetically.

"B-but y-you look th-the sa-same," Hinata pointed out after recovering from the fact Naruto had his arm around her.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong!" the sisters exclaimed, coming out of their melancholy state with extreme ease.

They whipped off their hats with awed eyed synchronization and their long hair tumbled down their backs.

"See?" Keiko asked. "Our hair colors are different." She eyed her sister's mint green hair with distaste.

"Exactly," Kiri agreed, eyeing Keiko's silver hair with a similar expression.

"So," Naruto said, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Um, w-what were y-you he-here t-to tell us?" Hinata asked, catching on to what Naruto was trying to do.

Looks of realization dawned on the siblings faces.

"Oops." Kiri turned to look at Keiko. "We got sidetracked again Kei."

Keiko merely shrugged and put her hat back on. "We're her to tell you how to go through the ride and its safety precautions," she explained with a cheesy smile.

"Firstly, you walk wherever you want through out the house, in any direction, because there is no path and the only way out is the way you came in," Kiri said, putting her hat back on as well.

"Also, if you get lost or one of your party has no stomach for fear and faints, or something to that degree, knock on the wall three times and we'll come to help," Keiko added.

"Any questions?" They asked in that scary synchronization.

"Nope!" Naruto grinned, trying to avoid Hinata's shocked gaze.

"Great!" Keiko and Kiri exclaimed. "Have a good time! Bye!"

With that, the sisters were gone, leaving Naruto and Hinata in the dark room.

"Hey Hinata?" Naruto asked, leaning over to whisper in her ear. He tightened his grip around her shoulders when he felt her stiffen from surprise. Slowly but surely she relaxed in his hold and Naruto took this as a sign to continue. "Did you understand those instructions?"

The blonde grinned sheepishly and his heart swelled when his expression made Hinata smile.

She nodded and then realized he might not be able to see her face in the dark. "Y-yes."

Naruto sighed in relief. "That's good," he said and started to walk. "They talk _way_ too fast."

Hinata brought a hand up to her mouth to muffle her giggles. "Mmhm," she agreed between her fits.

_Yay! I made Hinata laugh!_ Naruto praised himself. He was trying to make this day her happiest after all.

Both ninja were so focused on their thoughts that when kunai knives flew out of the walls, all their training paid off.

In record time, Naruto and Hinata had their faces pressed to the ground, the sound of the kunai whizzing over their heads.

"What the hell?!?! What kind of 'Haunted House' is this?!?!?!" Naruto complained once the kunai rampage was over.

He helped Hinata back on her feet with a gentleness that didn't seem possible at the moment. "You okay?" he asked in genuine concern.

"Ah, um..." Hinata stammered. His worry was really overwhelming and her mind had trouble stringing her thoughts together. The heiress took a deep breath and nodded.

Knowing that that was as good of an answer that he was going to receive, Naruto sighed. "Good," he said, releasing the breath he had been holding.

The blonde gripped Hinata's hand tightly, not bothering to give an explanation.

"Um..." Hinata started, staring at their linked hands in confusion. Sure she was enjoying this more than anything else that happened all day but the fact that this couldn't be interpreted as a friendly gesture was too much for meek little Hinata Hyuuga.

"Hm?" Naruto asked, getting used to hearing the quiet voice of hers. "What is it?"

"Um..." Hinata was having a mental war, making sure to not sound rude but not make it too difficult to understand either. "Wh-why ar-are you hol-holding m-my hand Nar-ruto?"

Naruto didn't seem fazed by her blunt question in the least. He tightened his hold and began walking (much more careful than last time).

"Because if I don't you could get hurt. We might get separated too." Naruto momentarily took on a serious expression. "I don't want to lose you Hinata," he said, staring into her eyes with such intensity that she almost fainted.

Almost.

His expression returned to the regular goofy grin so fast that it questioned if he really had that tense look on his face.

"O-okay," Hinata agreed, still taken back by his mature faze.

Something close to the ground glinted and it caught Hinata's attention. Her lavender eyes widened and she tugged at Naruto's hand. "S-stop!" she yelled out, trying to be heard with that soft voice of hers.

When she received no answer, Hinata tugged harder on Naruto's hand.

The blonde was pulled back and the two collided harshly. Hinata was thrown onto her back but was spared the pain of Naruto's weight as he braced himself with his arms in the nick of time.

"Ah!" Naruto exclaimed when he gathered his thoughts. "I'm sorry Hinata! Are you okay?" He felt a sense of deja vu in this moment but shook off that thought when Hinata grimaced in pain.

He brought his hand behind her head so she could rest on something softer than the textured tiled floor.

Slowly, he saw her open her eyes and stare straight into his.

He never knew how much he loved those eyes.

Then both of their eyes widened dramatically at the realization of their position. Naruto's blush reached the redness of Hinata's by the time he finally unwound his hand from behind her head and stood up off of her.

He awkwardly extended a hand and she just as awkwardly accepted the help.

"So...uh... why'd you pull me back like that?" Naruto asked, trying to rid himself of another awkward moment.

Hinata pointed behind him with the hand that wasn't still held in his.

He turned to look at whatever caused his second fall for the day and found himself staring at a thin piece of fishing line running from one wall to the one parallel to it. It was obviously some kind of trap.

Again, Naruto couldn't help but wonder what kind of 'Haunted House' this was meant to be.

"Okay, let's step over it then," Naruto suggested, leading the way once again.

"B-but-"

Her words of caution were cut short and if Hinata weren't so kind she'd say "I told you so."

Naruto's right foot sunk into the tile a few inches and the walls opened up to reveal...

"Flamethrowers!" Naruto yelled in disbelief.

Before he had anytime to think, the flamethrowers opened up and the firery heat filled the room.

"Eep."

* * *

"It isn't working," Shino stated, ever the optimist. 

The six others stared at him weakly. They were so exhausted from the day's work that they couldn't even manage to look shocked at the fact that this was the third time Shino had spoken all day.

"He's right Temari," Kankuro spoke up.

The eldest Sand Sibling looked off in a daze. She had lost most of her will-power when they hadn't taken advantage of the falling incident three minutes ago. Why did these two have to be so freaking dense? No! Her will-power would _not_ fade! It would come back with ten times the power!

...Oh god, that sounded like Rock Lee for a second there.

"Fine!" Temari suddenly shouted, snapping everyone's attention to her. She stood up straight, the determined look back in her teal eyes. "If they want to be that way then we're gonna have to make their feelings that much more obvious!" She smirked sadistically at the six shinobi.

"I have a plan."

* * *

"Naruto?" Hinata asked, poking his unconscious form gently. 

She looked at her poking finger and frowned at the dark charcoal on the tip. She switched her attention onto Naruto. His burnt body blent in with the intricate designs on the tiled floor perfectly, the soot on his lips puffing up with each shallow breath.

"Naruto," Hinata whispered in the sweetest voice she could manage. She placed her hands on his shoulders and shook him light enough that it wouldn't irritate his burnt skin.

"Ngh," he groaned irritatingly loud in the vacant hallway. Naruto squirmed a bit and instantly regretted it when he felt the sensitive skin ripple in displeasure.

"Hinata?" the shinobi asked when he felt a fragile hand slip carefully behind his back and help him into a sitting position. His blue eyes slowly opened and, even more slowly, adjusted to the dark. Naruto turned his head to the left and he automatically smiled at seeing Hinata's worried yet relieved face.

"A-are y-you okay?" the Hyuuga asked, beginning to stutter again now that Naruto was awake.

Naruto grinned as though he wasn't burned to a crisp at that very moment. "The future Hokage couldn't get hurt by something like that!" he exclaimed with pride.

He jumped up and shook off all the soot that decorated his body.

Hinata followed suit and smiled at Naruto's never-ending bundle of energy.

"Ready to go Hinata?" the perky blonde asked once he was rid of all the ash.

She nodded and Naruto grabbed her hand once more, loving the feel of her soft skin.

The duo walked extra careful this time, making sure that no traps were in their way. The exit was god-knows-where by this time and the two paranoid ninja did not help the matter at all.

"Boo!" a ghost cackled, falling from the ceiling with a bang.

"Ah!" Naruto and Hinata screamed, turning to cling onto each other for support.

...Being paranoid sucked...

Naruto felt Hinata bury her head deeper into his chest and warmth spread to his cheeks.

After the initial shock wore off, Hinata had realized their position and blushed more furiously than Naruto.

She made a move to get out of his arms but another evil cackle sounded behind her and she jumped back into the protection of Naruto's arms.

The blonde tightened his grip on her tiny frame (as he seemed to be doing all day) and started to rub small circles on her back.

As calming the gesture was, Hinata wouldn't let go.

Not like Naruto minded.

Hinata hadn't stopped shaking. Inspiration struck her protector. He remembered an event happening two days ago. Yeah! That was when he brought the Konohamaru Corps to the park. It was a bright and sunny day...

_**flashback**_

_"Wahhh!!!" a little boy cried, tears running down his tanned cheeks. The bright and sunny day had not apparently cheered the boy to ridiculous heights._

_"Sora!" A slightly older boy ran up to the crying six year-old. "Hey," the older boy said in a calming voice, bending down to the six year-old's - Sora's - height. "What happened Sor?" he asked, pulling the boy into an embrace._

_Sora's hiccups made his words difficult to understand but big brother Roxas understood the boy perfectly._

_Roxas sighed. "I told you not to jump off the swing," he scolded, numbing the effect of the harsh words by running his hand through Sora's spiky brunette hair. "At least you only landed on your face and didn't break anything."_

_A loud sniff was the brunette's only response._

_That is, until Sora mumbled a few muffled words into Roxas' tear stained shirt._

_"Kiss it to make it better. Mommy does that."_

_Roxas smiled at his baby brother's innocence. "Okay Sor." He backed up a little and placed a kiss on Sora's forehead._

_"Better?" he asked, looking for any clue in Sora's facial expression._

_The pouty frown really confused him._

_"Mommy kisses my mouth," Sora deadpanned._

_Roxas raised an eyebrow. He wasn't seriously expected to lip-lock with his baby brother, was he?_

_One look at Sora's face and the answer was yes._

_The older one sighed inwardly, not wanting to upset Sora and kissed him firmly on the lips._

_When he pulled back, his little brother was grinning his usual carefree, all signs of previous injury gone._

_Roxas rolled his eyes. He stood up, scooping Sora up with him. "Let's go home."_

_"Okay Roxy!" Sora chirped, pecking Roxas quickly on the mouth._

_**end flashback**_

Yeah, if a kiss helped a boy with physical pain it would surely help a girl with emotional pain!

Without taking time to think, Naruto swooped down and gave Hinata a firm kiss, trying to do what he saw at the park.

He pulled back when he received no reaction. "Are you still scared Hinata?" Naruto asked, searching her eyes.

Seconds passed and Hinata just stared at him blankly.

Naruto started to panic inwardly. He really didn't want to upset Hinata. The whole point of the day was to make her smile! _Oh wait... she's about to talk._

And talk she did. The words music to Naruto's ears.

"I-I think I n-need an-another ki-kiss Na-Naruto."

They kissed again, the same way six others were doing at that very moment. And all because of a few Carnival Antics.

* * *

**kawaii-firestar- Rushed and cheesy ending I know but I was rushed and cheesy has that special thing to it ya know. Okay no it doesn't. Anyways, this would suck if I never heard from any of you again! So I'll try to write for you and you'll talk to me? Please? Okay, I'm done. By for now everyone! D**


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